Hunt for Justice (3 page)

"Kill her quick!"

"Will that stop that monster?"

"Only chance we got."

The fools had been kind enough to give her warning.

They rushed her. She took two head-on, slapping a sloppy stab away from her body with one hand, then ducking a swipe aimed at her throat from a second man. Nolan did his part, tripping up the third man's legs with his cane while she moved in closer to the two men. A second shot with the cane to the thug's temple put him out of commission, just as Ezzy disarmed one of the two men attacking her.

And then a green and maroon blur crashed into all of them.

When Ezzy shook the stars from her eyes, she found herself underneath a foul smelling thug who was thankfully unconscious. She rolled the man off of her and glanced around.

The battle was over. Five of the gang members were down, the slow rise and fall of their chests showing that they were still alive. Well, six if you counted the one that Paz had launched into the air first. It was doubtful he had recovered from his landing already though. The man who had blanketed her had been one of the men foolish enough to attack Paz.

Her Vilathos was standing in the center of the alley. Its task completed, Paz waited for instructions. All around him was destruction. Four separate buildings had holes punched into their walls, along with the building at the end of the alley that was missing its corner.

"This is much worse than Halyquain," Nolan grunted from behind her. Using his cane to push up off the ground, he glanced around at the damage.

"Yes, well, you said we were in much more danger than when we were in Halyquain."

"From the walls?"

"I'll work on teaching Paz how to fight in closer quarters."

Nolan took a few pokes at the bodies around him. "You might also want to teach it not to throw the bodies of its enemies at its allies."

"Noted. When I get the chance, I'll get right to work on that."

"You can start tonight. You're going to take Paz south of town. Get as far as you can tonight and then make camp."

"But I need to talk to the Healer, what was his name, Joseph? I'm sure it's still early enough--"

"You must be kidding me!" Nolan face had turned a light shade of red and his whole body trembled. A rare sight for the usually somber man.

"Nolan, this is the first solid lead we've gotten in I don't know how long..."

Limping over, he placed a firm hand on her arm.

"Do you not see the damage around us? We are in a lot of trouble. YOU are in a lot of trouble. You need to be out of town right away. I'll stick around and talk to the Healer."

"I'm sure if we explain what happened..."

Of course at that moment one of the damaged walls completely collapsed. A lit candle cast a dim light on a living room on the other side of the destroyed wall. Peeking out from underneath a table was a woman with a young child. They both looked terrified.

"Alright," she relented, "we'll leave tonight. Are you sure it's safe for you to stay around?"

"Safe enough. Head due south and I'll meet you late tomorrow. Now get going."

"Be careful, Nolan," she said before walking over to Paz. Lifting her arms, she ordered the construct to pick her up. Grasping her in its giant hands, Paz placed her on his shoulder. Giving one last nod to Nolan, she had Paz carry her off into the night.

CHAPTER THREE

Outskirts

Temple Bounty - 25 Silver (Alive)

Paz had carried her south late into the night. By the time they had stopped, the clouds had cleared, and all three moons hung high in the sky. Their green, blue, and red light bathed the area, creating an array of tiny rainbows in the dew that was starting to form on the grass. It really was a beautiful sight. Even Ezzy, who didn't care much for the beauty of things, had to admit it was striking.

When she found an acceptable spot to camp, she had Paz drop the oversized bag he wore on his back packed with all of their camping supplies, then sent him off to try and find some dry wood for a fire. Since it was only the beginning of the Chill season, the night wasn't painfully cold. She could survive if she needed to without a fire if she curled up underneath her blankets in her tent, but she would prefer a little warmth. Luck was not with her, though, as everything Paz brought back was too wet to light.

"Can't you tell the difference between a good stick and a bad one?" she said, shaking her finger at the construct.

Silence was all she received in return.

Ezzy knew that the Vilathos wasn't a living creature with a single thought of its own, but sometimes it made her feel better to talk to it. Especially when she was alone. She had spent more of her late teenage and young adult life with the Vilathos than with anyone else. That was probably why she had gotten so good at instilling complicated instructions in it. Nolan had said even at a young age, she was a natural Handler.

Setting the Vilathos to guard their location, Ezzy had crawled into the tent, wrapped herself up in her blankets, and fallen right to sleep last night.

Even with the uncomfortable ground and slight chill in the tent, Ezzy had been able to sleep soundly. With nothing else to do but wait, she had let herself sleep in till late morning. After rising, cleaning up the tent, having a few pieces of fruit for breakfast, and then having a one-sided conversation with Paz about the finer points of caravan management, Ezzy had run out of things to do.

Waiting was painful.

Not like the sharp pain of a wrist broken during a sparring match or the slow burn of going a few days without food, but having to wait all day on the southern plains of Wethrintir made Ezzy's entire body itch. Ezzy had always been a person of action even from a young age. She led her younger brothers around from the moment they could walk, like a shepherdess leading her flock, making sure they did what she wanted while keeping them out of trouble. When her father was away on a caravan, she controlled the house. Well, as much as her mother would let her.

Stuck out in the middle of an open field with nothing to do but sit and stare at her Vilathos, she was starting to go stir-crazy.

"This is your fault," she said as she tossed a damp stick at Paz. "If you hadn't caused so much destruction, I could have stayed to talk to the Healer. Now we have to wait."

The stick bounced off of Paz's arm. The Vilathos didn't move.

"Oh, don't you act all noble," Ezzy continued. "I've spent years training you to avoid crashing into walls. I assumed that included what you hit when you swung your fists. You turned most of those walls into windows."

Silence.

"You could at least feel a little guilty about it!"

Through their bond, she commanded Paz to raise his hands to cover its stone face. It complied, which gave it the appearance of an ashamed child. Ezzy liked it. If she got really bored she would spend some time instilling a command that would make him repeat the gesture whenever she said a few keys words. Maybe later. She was having a good time relieving some stress by admonishing an inanimate object.

"And throwing that thug at me! That was certainly the worst thing you did last night."

Paz remained hidden behind his hands.

"Oh, don't you dare turn this on me. I've taught you a wide range of fighting tactics, but unless I'm controlling every little action, you just do the same routine. Pound and throw. Tossing an enemy is only affective if it doesn't end with them on top of me."

Still Paz hid. Ezzy felt a pang of guilt for a moment, then quickly squashed it. It was one thing to have a conversation with a mindless creation, it was another thing to feel bad about berating it. She commanded Paz to lower his hands.

"Alright, alright. I can admit when I'm wrong. I put the effort in training you not to hit Nolan or me, but I never taught you anything about not throwing things in my general area. You're not at fault...this time. But I'm going to make sure to fix that problem during the trip, so don't you go thinking you can get away with it again."

She had Paz nod.

"Good. Glad we see eye-to-eye. Now, I'm going to take another nap. You make sure to keep any animals away from me and wake me as soon as Nolan returns."

Setting Paz to his guard routine, Ezzy dug out her blankets from the bags and spread them out across the grass
.
Might as well get a little su
n
, she thought, and stripped down to her undergarments. Paz would warn her before anyone got close enough to see more than they should. With the light breeze and clear skies, the weather was too perfect not to take advantage of the chance to lie out. The colder temperatures of the season would come soon enough, so this might be the last chance she would have to get a little color.

"Don't you judge me," she said as she lay down on the blankets. "We both know I'm not completely vain. I just don't like how pale I get during the Freeze and Thaw seasons."

She knew it was her imagination, but the creak of Paz's joints as it began its patrol almost sounded like laughter.

***

Ezzy sat up the minute Paz's guard routine stopped. Grabbing her clothes, she got dressed as fast as she could. Since Paz hadn't sent an alarm through their bond, it meant Nolan was approaching. She glanced over to find him much closer than she would have liked before she was completely dressed. The Thaljori had been around her for most of her life, but that didn't mean Ezzy was comfortable enough to be half naked in front of him. By the time the man walked up to camp, Ezzy was covered in her usual attire.

"You have good news, I hope?" she asked as he took a seat across from her.

"Why hello, Nolan," he replied with a dry tone. "Glad to see you are still alive, Nolan. Can I get you something to eat or drink, Nolan, after you limped your way out here?"

"Stop being overly dramatic. You look fine, and I bet you slept in a nice, comfy bed and had at least two good meals."

"Perhaps. But I also had to avoid people asking questions about you and the damage you caused last night."

"Technically, Paz caused it."

"Technically, you control Paz, so..."

"Whatever. Did you learn anything?"

"Yes. I learned that you angered enough people that they are petitioning to put a bounty on your head. And not just a local bounty. They are sending it to Lurthalan and Avien'zia's temple."

She flashed her biggest smile. "So pictures of my face are going to be posted up in villages and towns throughout the realm? I hope they find an artist that can properly portray my looks."

Nolan rose with a growl and moved right in Ezzy's face.

"You foolish girl! This is not a joking matter! A bounty means bounty hunters."

"Like some bounty hunter would have any chance against Paz--"

"Quiet! You think this is a joke? How are you going to track down this Ean fellow if we are dodging bounty hunters? It certainly will make it that much harder to find work for Paz. Do you have any other skills you haven't told me about that can make us more money? As much money as we save sleeping outside every town and village you get us kicked out of, we still have to buy food."

"I could take up hunting to handle the food problem..."

"And let's say we run into some bounty hunters on the road, or worse, get in a fight around other people. If you have to use Paz to protect us and more destruction occurs, what happens then?"

"Well, uh..." she tried to reply but he continued to speak right over her.

"I'll tell you what happens. Paz causes more damage, they put a bigger bounty on you and probably one on me once they realize I'm with you, and then we'll have Heroes or even worse, those fanatics of Avien'zia coming after us. We won't last a quarter of a season on the run from either of them."

"What did you want me to do!" she screamed, her resolve finally breaking down. "They were going to take us. Use my body until they couldn't get any more money out of me and then kill me. You, they would have kept you working until your mind broke from the strain of bonding Vilathos. I saved both of our lives!"

She was crying. Why was she crying? She rarely ever cried.

"Oh, Ezzy," Nolan whispered, then leaned in and wrapped his spindly arms around her.

She didn't know why, but that one action by her closest friend opened up the floodgates. Ezzy began to sob uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," she got out between sobs. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

He held her tight, giving her reassuring pats on the back when the tears flowed strongest.

"I've had everything taken away from me, Nolan," she cried into his shoulder. "My father, my life. My mother and brothers struggle to get by every day. I should be home, putting what money father left me to make things better. Instead I'm dragging you all over Ven Khilada, hunting rumors in some vain attempt to find some justice. Or revenge. I don't know which it is anymore."

"It's justice, Ezzy. I wouldn't be here if it was anything other than justice. We just need to be more careful. Especially with a bounty on your head."

"Oh, Nolan." Ezzy pulled back so that she could wipe her eyes and try to gain some control over her emotions. "Mother will be so disappointed in me when those posters start going up in Lurthalan. And she'll have bounty hunters bothering her all the time."

"We'll get a letter to her when we pass through Lurthalan that explains everything. I'm sure she will understand."

"It would be better if I told her in person."

"We can't take that chance now. Word of your bounty will reach Lurthalan long before we do. If I was a bounty hunter, the very first place I would stake out would be your mother's home."

"Ugh," she grumbled, sitting back and putting her face in her hands. "You're right. As always. That must be a great feeling, to always be right."

"It's troublesome at the best of times," Nolan replied. His smile signaled that he knew her words held no ill will. "I would avoid Lurthalan completely if we could, but we will need to get supplies, and any other settlement would take us too far out of the way."

"So, you have an idea of where this Saniteal is?" Hope perked her right up.

"Yes, the man I talked to today said that this Iacane fellow mentioned he was headed down to Shade. Something about researching the effects The Wall has on the people that live beneath it."

"That's wonderful!" Falling forward, she wrapped her arms around Nolan's neck. He struggled to keep them both from tipping over, finally succeeding after a few grunts and groans. "Well, I don't really know that much about Shade. That's the Janpair family's region after all. But it's still a great lead."

"Yes, well, it means a lot more traveling," he said, carefully detaching her arms from around his neck. Ezzy couldn't help but smile when she saw that he was blushing. The old stiff. He really was bad at handling any emotion other than irritation.

"Not a problem. We're becoming experts at roaming the land."

Rising with the help of his cane, Nolan glanced around the makeshift camp.

"Well then, expert traveler. Should we get going? There is still plenty of daylight left, and the trek to Lurthalan will take us eight or nine days on foot. Might as well get a strong start."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm looking forward to a nice, leisurely stroll across the plains to Lurthalan. Should be fun."

Grinning, Ezzy began packing up her things while Nolan worked some life into his bad knee.

Paz remained where he had last stopped, waiting for an order to move.